Home Workout Challenge

Beginner Bodyweight Workout at Home & An Easy Post-Workout Meal Idea

A 2-Part Home Workout Series Sponsored by Polar for the 30-day #PolarShapeUpChallenge [PART 1]

Looking for a Beginner Bodyweight Workout you can do at home?

liz-germain Look no further! Try the one I filmed for you today!! I bet you’ll love it.

If you’re a beginner, one of the best ways to get started with fitness is by using your own bodyweight to get your sweat on.

Why? Because you can do bodyweight workouts from anywhere, at any time.

Bodyweight training is a fundamental first step to master in fitness.

All beginners should start by focusing on what we call Compound Functional Movements (CFMs).

What Are Compound Functional Movements (CFMs)?

CFMs are based on natural, functional calisthenic movements. They focus on full range of motion using primary, secondary, and stabilizer muscle groups all at once to build functional strength, prevent injury and increase mobility.

In other words, CFMs deliver maximum results in the shortest amount of time.

Today’s exercise circuit is designed with CFMs in mind and aims to target both large and small muscle groups in your entire body. This will help you lift, tone and strengthen your body while burning more body fat at the same time.

Today’s workout will consist of 3 elements: Upper Body, Lower Body & Abs/Core.

Combining all three categories into one workout like this is a functional way to help keep your workout short but still effective.

And with my sister’s wedding coming up fast (it’s in exactly one month), I’ve been looking for more ways to stay extra accountable. I’m working with Polar right now to test out their new Polar A360 wristband and I want to share with you what I’ve found over the last couple of weeks of using this activity tracker. Polar Flow app screenshot

As a trainer and fitness instructor, I’m always on the lookout for new technology and tools to help make my (and my clients’) goals easier to track and follow.

I’ve been hearing more and more about fitness trackers like this lately, so I figured it’s time to give one of these a shot.

What better way to try it out than to use one in today’s workout?

Occasionally I come across new fitness toys I really like. And just to be clear, I’ve actually been a skeptic of fitness trackers in general for a while now.

Sara and I usually recommend avoiding trackers, scales and calorie counting. Why? Because we don’t want anyone to fall into a number tracking obsession.

Usually recommend people stay away from calorie counting apps or activity trackers for this reason.

BUT… I think I might have to change my stance on this a little.

After I tried the Polar A360 tracker, I’m so blown away with all the cool things it does that I’m ready to ring in a new era of training with the help of this cool device.

Polar A360 wrist tracker

The latest Polar Balance tracker includes some serious assessment technology — when you get this particular tracker, there’s a smart scale and additional web tracking service that comes included.

Why do these extra features matter though?

Because having a comprehensive strategy like this can help you bridge the gap between your eating and exercise habits.

It can help you identify areas for improvement in your day-to-day routine, and help you get a good understanding of your current activity levels and how to fine tune them for better results.

They call the entire concept the “Balance ecosystem,” which includes your smart scale, your wrist unit and a free app that syncs it all up via Bluetooth — which means you don’t even have to lift a finger to get your data — a great perk if you’re not necessarily very “tech savvy.”

Polar A360 smart scale

The wrist tracker is constantly collecting your biometric data (even while you sleep).

Polar A360 wrist tracker This data can be used to help you reach your goals more intelligently versus just blindly huffing and puffing your way through a generic workout, so I’ve found it’s becoming a fun way to stay motivated AND to get some good feedback.

What I’ve really been loving is that the tracker buzzes and displays a cool visual screen when you hit your daily goals. That’s been my favorite part so far, and as a former skeptic, I never thought I’d find myself getting so excited by a buzzing wristband!

The ecosystem can be personalized to your specific goals and will update automatically every day, keeping solid records of your activities, heart rate levels, daily steps and lots more.

This means you’re not just tracking calories burned or the zones you’re in daily, you’re also getting real-time feedback and guidance for what’s working and what’s not in your workout routines.

NOTE: The official Polar website offers the option of creating a personalized program, so that’s pretty cool too.

It even has smart watch features like message notifications, calendar reminders and a color touch screen. Watch out too, because it vibrates if you’ve been inactive for too long.

Boring watches, step aside. I’m seriously in love with this thing.

Okay, so now that you know what I’m using to track my workouts lately (and to help me stay on track with my goals), let’s get into the workout.

Today’s workout follows a format called the “ladder” — a ladder is any workout sequence that ascends or descends by number of reps performed. For this bodyweight workout, we’ll be doing a descending ladder (50 reps, 40 reps, 30 seconds, 20 reps, etc.).